The Silent Musician: Why Conducting Matters

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Closing out today’s list of silent musical compositions is another politically charged release. Clearly, someone had a beef against President Ronald Reagan, much like John Denver’s beef with Richard Nixon. The Wit and Wisdom of Ronald Reagan was not a song but a completely silent album released by Stiff Records.

DeWoskin, Kenneth J. – A Song for One or Two, Center for Chinese Studies, the University of Michigan, 1982 (p. 138) Although the personality of the performer is crucial and ultimately what distinguishes great performances, that personality has to be used as a means to an end, an end envisioned fundamentally by the composer. The authors therefore conclude that our enjoyment of music is more complex than just a kneejerk reaction to sound. It is a constant processing that happens even when there is nothing to hear but the whirr of our brains’ prediction engine. But what happens when artists release or compose music that is completely silent? How is it possible to gain meaning from these pieces? To answer that question, here are ten silent musical compositions and why their silence gives them artistic or historical value. An illuminating account of what it means to be [a conductor], how it feels, what's required and why it's a misunderstood job that has the potential to enrich and terrify in equal measure . . . Fascinating. Source: BBC Music Magazine

These differences, however, happened in such a predictable fashion that the researchers were able to identify the heard melody just by analyzing the EEG signals produced during the imagery sessions. I could easily go on and on about what Mr Wigglesworth has to say about such things as surtitles at the opera, observing other conductors in rehearsal, the various challenges of conducting opera versus concerts, coping with singers versus instrumentalists and the zillion other things about what a conductor faces, decides, likes, dislikes, accomplishes, succeeds, fails and on and on. Oliveros developed Deep Listening in collaboration with her partner IONE and the movement artist Heloise Gold. A Deep Listening practice involves exercises and meditations that encourage “360 degree” and “24-hour” listening. This might include listening with parts of your body other than your ears, and paying attention to sounds even while dreaming. To facilitate the practice, Oliveros wrote text-based scores, many of which resemble Zen koans, such as the meditation “Have You Ever Heard the Sound of an Iceberg Melting?”

However, full score rests, in which the entire orchestra or band rests and does not play, are rare. It is with great joy and admirationthat I confess that this is the first book on conducting that I have read since the introduction to the Handbook of Conducting by Hermann Scherchen published in 1933 that not only finally bears resemblance to who and what a conductor actually is but puts into very readable and eloquent English prose exactly who and/or what a conductor is and/or isn’t. DeWoskin, Kenneth J. – A Song for One or Two, Center for Chinese Studies, the University of Michigan, 1982 (139) We are nevertheless very pleased to have reached agreement with Mr Batt and accept his donation in good spirit."Songwriter John Denver claimed that nuclear disarmament was a major goal of his. President Richard Nixon considered using nuclear weapons four times during his administration. Denver wanted to cut the defense budget. Nixon wanted to raise it. It’s safe to say that the two men had their fair share of political disagreements. Betz, Marianne (1999). " In futurum – von Schulhoff zu Cage". Archiv für Musikwissenschaft. 56 (4): 331–346. doi: 10.2307/931056. JSTOR 931056. includes one facsimile, p. 335

The band was going through all the motions: the swart, longish-haired leader led away; the brasses, the saxophones, the clarinets made a great show of fingering and blowing, but the only sound from the stage was a rhythmic swish-swish from the trap-drummer, a froggy slap-slap from the bull-fiddler, a soft plunk-plunk from the pianist. [6] Become a Faber Member for free and receive curated book recommendations, special competitions and exclusive discounts. Of all the notions most likely to rile more conservative critics, the idea of composing music with no sound may be the most provocative. But can silence ever make a valuable artistic statement? If not, why are people still willing to pay good money for the chance to rest their ears? You’ll often see H bars used to indicate that the musician shouldn’t play for multiple bars which is known as multirests.

We indicate multirests with an H bar and the number of bars to tacet for written above the bar like this: Multirest tacet Take a look at this short musical example, in which a caesura and a breath mark are featured: Caesura and breath marks Silence as Music Ultimately, however, he thinks the label is unimportant. “Whether it is music or not is a side issue. The really interesting thing is what it was designed to get us to think about,” he says. “It raises issues concerning the nature of music and how much we value traditional music.”